My Sites

Other Sites

Who Am I

I'm Mark, a would-be board certified geek with an interest in nearly anything with electrons. You've stumbled across what I've deemed a scratch-pad blog where I'll post nearly anything from techie items and code to life and videos.

Circuit board 'Land' cutter. - YouTube

Linked on 2012-07-21 | Tagged : diy electronics ideas MAKE todo

Neat idea for working with copper clad PCBs. I've engraved a few boards rather than use toner transfer etching processes, but the idea of cutting "islands" with a repurposed drill bit sounds like a fun challenge. [via hackaday]

Linked on 2012-05-22 | Tagged : apple front row hacks mac software

Somehow I missed the memo about Apple killing Front Row in 10.7, something I didn't use often, but still liked. Fortuatly there's a convient fix for it, and the various patches I talked about in 2010 still work, assuming you can find the downloads.

Battery Adapter for Canon Powershot SX200

I've been wanting to get an AC adapter for my digital cameras for a while now, and while I have the power supplies needed, the adapter component has been a question for a while. Just buy a complete set and accept the cost, or buy one hope I can find a quitable adapter for my cobbled together power supply? I see something like this and I'm that much more sure I want a 3d printer and a cnc milling machine. [via adafruit]

Kim Kardashian: Why does she fascinate us? We used to revere scientists and surgeons! - Slate Magazine

Interesting argument. Why do we celebrate the "talentless" when we used to celebrate the "talentless" along side the intellectuals. I think theres some fallacy on both ends of the author's timeline, but I think the point is the more important. Why do we no longer celebrate the most intellegent and creative? There are some that we do, the mainstream list is pretty small compared to the athletes, musicians and actors. While I don't think it's a social equivilent to Harrison Bergeron where we celebrate the average amd penalize the truely skilled, there are times when it seems close, I mean how many sceintists and surgeons do we have in political office?

Linked on 2012-04-30 | Tagged : 007 geek hack make videos youtube

So in James Bond's Tomorrow Never Dies, they dreamed up a car that Bond could drive with his cell phone. While that movie is 15 years old, a couple thusand dollars and you can drive a car with an iPhone. Admittedly there's no video feed (yet) so it's ore of an oversized RC car, but it's still pretty cool (and comes with some instructions and softwareĂ˘€Â¦) [via adafruit]

Neat to see that our society does read, with a Gallup survey showing about 48% of people are reading a book or novel. However, it leaves plenty of questions unanswered. While we are reading, are we reading Harry Potter and The Hunger Games or are we reading classics from Goethe and Mark Twain to more modern classics like Catch 22 or 1984 (at least outside the demands of classrooms), and perhaps the question of if it even matters. It'll take time and further studies to understand the enviroment, but as someone with an evergrowing slush pile of literature, it's good to know I'm not alone...

Innovation and the Bell Labs Miracle - NYTimes.com

AT&T and Bell labs were being split up before I was born, but there's something appealing about the way Bell Labs used to operate. A center where thinkers and builders were working under the same roof, and the diverse skill set with an open door policy. While I know businesses need bureaucracy and management to run , I love finding a job where there's a fair amount of freedom available, with the resources and time permitted to pursuit ones ideas and goals. Thankfully it seems like there are lots of modern businesses picking up what Bell Labs left behind, but it's great reading about what Bell used to be. I'll probably be looking for the authors's book when I get a chance. [via Adafruit]